Ever wanted to change what a sign said in a picture to trick a friend? Ever wanted to change the good old 15 mph (24 km/h) school zone sign to something more fun like 75 mph (121 km/h) or even 95 mph (153 km/h)? Well, after reading this tutorial, all of the above and more should all be possible.

Ad

Steps

1

Find the right picture.This picture should be something with some kind of writing in it. The writing should appear rather flat on the picture or else it will be more difficult to replace the text and make it look real.

Ad

2

Create a blank canvas where you would like to replace your text. This can be done in many different ways, but here are two of them:

The first and easiest way is to simply paint over the writing with the same color as the background. This can be done by using the “Eyedropper Tool�? to gain the desired color. The eyedropper tool sets the paint color to whatever color it has been placed over. Once the color is selected carefully use the “Paintbrush Tool�? to paint over the writing. Make sure to leave a small amount of text showing so that it can be used to gain the desired color of the text.

The second way is a little more complex because it involves something called cloning. This would be taking a small section of the desired background and cloning it to cover the text. The cloning is ideal when the sign or background you are attempting to edit is textured in some way. (see cloning tutorial)

3

Create the Text. Creating the text is very easy. You can use the Eyedropper tool once again to gain the desired color of the text. Once the color has been acquired, it is time to create the text. To create the text you should use the “Type Tool�?. Just click anywhere on the picture and a text entry box will appear. Type the desired text into the field and also adjust the size, font, and style of the writing. Once this is completed, simply hit OK. This will create a new Layer in Photoshop. If the size of the text is not what you had imagined you can go to “Edit >> Transform >> Scale�? and this will allow you to adjust the size of the type and the position of the type on the general picture.

4

'Additional editing Possibly you find that the text needs to be adjusted because the board, banner, etc. you wrote on is distorted due to perspective issues. You can correct for this by right clicking on the layer name in the layers panel, and choosing rasterize type. (This will make a bitmap of your text, so editing of the text is no longer possible) After that you choose "Edit>>Transform>>Distort". By dragging the anchor points around your text you can adjust for the perspective.

5

Complete with the above tutorial you should be able to do some text replacing and text creating on a picture to make it say whatever you want! Happy editing!

Ad

We could really use your help!

Can you tell us aboutsummer squash?

Yes

No

summer squash

different ways to cook summer squash

Can you tell us aboutdogs?

Yes

No

dogs

how to build an indoor dog kennel

Can you tell us abouthorses?

Yes

No

horses

how to much out a stall with shavings

Can you tell us aboutHarvard Business School?

Yes

No

Harvard Business School

how to get into Harvard Business School

Thanks for helping! Please tell us everything you know about

...

Tell us everything you know here. Remember, more detail is better.

Tips

Provide Details.

Please be as detailed as possible in your explanation. Don't worry about formatting! We'll take care of it.
For example:Don't say: Eat more fats.Do say: Add fats with some nutritional value to the foods you already eat. Try olive oil, butter, avocado, and mayonnaise.